Barrel-bung



No. 753,156. PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904.

E. M. MAYER. BARREL'B NG.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

5 7 cf 9 215 8 J Z 713 1 i O I F UZ UNITED i STATES Patented February 23, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

BARREL-BUNG.

SPECIFICATION formingtpart of Letters Patent No. 753,156, dated. February 23, 1904.

Application filed September 14, 1903. Serial No. 178,210. (H model.) i v To all whom it may concern.- Y

Beit known thatI, EMIL MAYER, acitizen of the United States of America, and a resi dent of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton so as to form an efficient preventive of the fraudulent substitution of the contents of the barrels; and the object of the invention is to provide a latch device of this general character of a simple and inexpensivenature and of a strong, compacuand durable structure which shall permit of ready insertion of the bung to which it is attached within the bunghole, but which shall when the bung is inserted hold the same securely imposition, so that the bung cannot be removed from the barrel and again inserted. I

The'inv'ention consists in certain novel features of the construction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts of the improved latch device, whereby certain important advantages are attained and the deviceis made simpler, cheaper, and otherwise better adapted and more convenient for use, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The novel features of the invention will be carefully defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which serve to illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a sectional view taken longitudinally through the bung-hole of a barrel and showing in place therein a bung provided with a latch device constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a view taken in a similar direction through the bung-hole ofa barrel and showinga bung as it appears when being inserted within the bung-hole and before it has been sufliciently pressed into the bung-hole to permit the engaging means of the latch device to engage the inner surface of the barrel. In this view also the bung and latch device carried thereon are shown in section. Fig. 3 is-anunder side view showing a bung provided with a latch device constructed according to my invention.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken through the bung and the latch device carried upon it in the plane indicated by the line a a in Fig. 2.

In the views, y indicates the portion of the.

barrel wherein the bung-hole w is formed, and 1 indicates the bung, whichis of the ordinary form, being provided with beveled sides adapted to be forcibly driven into the bunghole to retain the contents within the barreh 2 indicates as a whole the improved latch device adapted forattachment to the under side of the bung in such a way as to stand within the barrel when the bung is driven into the bung-hole, the said latch device being adapted for engagement with the inner surface of the barrel adjacent to the bung-hole for. securely holding the bung when in place in the bunghole against removal therefrom. Since the latch device is thus contained within the bar.-

rel, it will be evident that it will be entirely hidden from view and protected from damage and also from being tampered with, and since the inclosed latch device is exposed to contact with the liquid contents of the barrel it is evident it should be formed from some material not liable to be corroded by said, liquid contents. For this purpose Ipreferably form the several parts of the latch deviceand also the nails or other devices for. attaching the same to the bung from copper, since this metal does not corrode when exposed tothe actionof spirituous liquors.

The latch device comprises a main frame or body portion formed from two rectangular.

pieces of copper plate 3 and 4, laid oneupon the other, the plate 3 being uppermost or next 'to the bung l and the plate 4 being beneath said plate 3, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4:. The

plates or members 3 and L serve to retain be:

corners of the lowermost plate or member 4:, as indicated at 6 6 on the drawings, and at such points I bend the corners 7 7 of the upper plate or member 3 downwardly and beneath the said lower plate or member, so that said downwardly-bent portions 7 7 of the upper plate or member securely hold the two parts of the frame together without the employment of other attachments.

For securing the device to the under side of the bung I preferably employ barbed copper nails 8 8, passed through the parts or members 3 and 1 at suitable points and engaged in the wooden body of the bung in such a way that their barbs effectively hold the latch device against removal from the bung. In this way it is rendered practically impossible to remove the bung outwardly from the bunghole of the barrel when it has once been inserted therein, and consequently fraudulent substitution of the contents of the barrel is prevented, except the bung be driven entirely within the barrel, and in such cases it will be obvious that the purchaser -will immediately detect such fraudulent substitution upon examination of the bung.

The engaging devices for holding the bung in position by engagement with the inner surface of the barrel comprise bolts 9 9, arranged within the longitudinal channel or groove 5, produced, as above described, between the two parts or members 3 and 4, there being, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a bolt 9 at each end of said groove or channel. The said bolts 9 are held pressed outward from the opposite ends of the groove or channel at normal times by means of a spiral spring 10,dnterposed in the groove or channel between their adjacent ends, and to limit the movement of said bolts 9 9 longitudinally in the groove or channel and also to hold them against dropping out of the same I provide retainingdevices, preferably in the form of pins or studs 13 13, extended downward from the bolts and engaged in slotted openings 14 14:, cut in the lower portion of the bent part 5 ofmember 4. The lengths of slots 14: limit the movements of the bolts 9,

and the engagement of the studs or pins 13 upon the ends of said slots serves to prevent withdrawal of the bolts from the groove or channel. To prevent rotative movement of the bolts and also to guide the bolts so that the pins or studs 14: will not bind upon the sides of slots 14, I also preferably flatten the upper surfaces of the respective bolts, as seen at 12, and the flattened portions thus produced engage flush upon the under side of the flat upper part or member 3 and slide readily thereon and also readily engage beneath the under surface of the barrel-stave at the side of the bung-hole when the bung is driven in place.

The outer ends of the bolts 9 9 are formed with beveled surfaces adapted to readily slide into and through the bunghole on being pressed or driven therein, as Will be readily understood. The employment of these beveled ends upon the bolts greatly facilitates the intlroduction of the-device within the bung- In the operation of the device when the bung provided with the improved latch device upon its under side is driven into the bunghole of a barrel, the beveled ends of the bolts 9 freely slip within the bung-hole and in no way interfere with the ready introduction of the bung, and when the bung has been driven into place so as to tightly close the bung-hole the bolts 9 9 spring out from opposite ends of the groove or channel 5 under the tension of spring 10 and automatically engage their flattened upper surfaces 12 12 beneath the stave at which the bung-hole is formed in such a way as to securely hold the bung in place against outward removal from the bung-hole. As above stated, this secure holding of the bung against outward removal from the bunghole effectually guards against fraudulent substitution of the contents of the barrel and indicates to the purchaser the genuine character of the contents, and it will also be seen that since the latch device is firmly held to the bung by means of the barbed nails or equivalent means the accidental removal of the bung and consequent loss of contents of the barrel is also effectually prevented.

The device constructed according to my invention is of an extremely simple and inexpensive nature and is especially well adapted for use, since it holds the bung securely in the barrel when once inserted in the bung-hole, and it will also be obvious from the above description that the device is capable of considerable modification without material departure from the principles and spirit of the invention, and for this reason I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise form and arrangement of the several parts of the device as herein set forth in carrying out the invention in practice.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. A device of the character described comprising bolts movable toward and from each other and having flattened upper faces and beveled extremities for engagement with the interior of a barrel or the like and a spring engaged with each bolt and arranged to hold its extremity normally pressed outward for engagement with said barrel, the flattened upper faces of the bolts conforming to the inner surface of the barrel;

2. A device of the character described comprising a frame adapted for attachment to a bung or the like and formed of two members of rectangular contour one above the other, one member having its corners cut away and the other member having its corners bent underneath the cut-away portions of the firstnamed member and one member having a central portion bent away from the other member to produce a longitudinal groove or channel provided with slots, bolts held in the groove or channel with extremities protruding at the an attached frame provided with an elongated channel, bolts movable endwise in the channel with extremities beveled upon their lower sides and adapted to project beyond opposite.

ends of-the channel for engagement with a stave when the bung 15 inserted 1n a bunghole and a spring centrally arranged in the channel and having opposite ends engaged with the respective bolts to hold each bolt with its beveled end normally extended from the channel.

Signed at Cincinnati, Ohio, this 25th day of August, 1903.

EMIL M. MAYER. Witnesses:

H. G110. SIGKLES, JOHN ELIAS J onns. 

